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This week both Nintendo and Microsoft's downloadable game services have some great titles to offer. The Wii will soon be playing host to Super Mario Bros. 2, Ecco: Tides of Time, and Dragon Spirit. Xbox Live Arcade, meanwhile, has up an update of Missile Command. This latest follows on the heels of Pac-Man: CE, a worthy and well-received updating of the arcade classic. Ars' comment about Ecco is dead on: "I used to love this game, just swimming around and doing those flips out of the water as Ecco was pretty calming. Then you tried to actually play the game and found out just how excruciatingly difficult it could be. While the Dreamcast update lost some of the magic, the original Ecco is still a neat twist on 2D games. Who knew that taking a platformer and setting it underwater would be so much fun?"

I did, and the 2600 version of Missile Command absolutely sucked compared to the arcade machine in all its multi-button trackball glory. If anything, Missile Command would be far better suited to an update on the Wii where at least the Wiimote would be more interesting than moving crosshairs around with a joystick.

Missile Command is supposed to compete with Super Mario Bros. 2 and Ecco the Dolphin?! Sucks to be Xbox Arcade.

I know which one I still play from time to time 15 years after my first encounter with it. And the one I'll probably still be playing 15 years on. Hint: It isn't Mario or Ecco.

I'm sure Mario and Ecco will probably perform better than Missile Command at least at first, but provided it's a decent Missile Command conversion that's the one which has the more timeless gameplay. It's definitely the one you're more likely to go to for a 20 minute gaming burst, which is the kind of situation these games should be

I LIKED SM 2 for the original Nintendo (and it remains my favorite Mario game to date [Which is relative, considering the only other Mario game I ever liked was Mariokart]...and it wasn't really a "Mario" game, just a Japanese game that switched out some Mario characters).

I dunno, I'm probably in a minority, but SMB 2 was probably my least favorite of the early SMB games. I've downloaded SMB and Super Mario World from the Virtual Console, and I like those ones (and liked them when they were new too). I'd much rather see SMB 3.As for Ecco, I'm actually surprised it is as popular as it is. I owned it back in the day when I had a Genesis, and it was okay, but I didn't think the gameplay was that good. I remember being impressed by the graphics at the time, though.

Excruciatingly difficult says it all, really. Seriously, I almost threw the fucking console at the wall because of that thing. "Whoops, you brushed against some weeds, so you're going to be stuck here until you press all the right buttons in the right order for the right amount of time, or until you drown. Either way, you're stuck." I think that's the first game where I've actually been more satisfied skipping levels.

I used to play ecco with a friend and we actually tried playing it, once controls and such were understood, to make a long story short sega genesis got intimately acquainted with the nearest wall
I wonder how hard it would be if i picked it up now though...

This latest follows on the heels of Pac-Man: CE [worthplaying.com], a worthy and well-received updating of the arcade classic.

Since Pac-Man CE has come out, we have seen Catan, Band of Bugs, and Carcassonne, all excellent strategy games which are well-worth the mention. Pac-Man CE was pretty good, yes, but these three games shored up a gap in a very under-represented genre on XBLA.

Then, don't buy it. Since when did Nintendo force you to buy the game multiple times? Some people don't have a NES, SNES or GBA and still would like Super Mario 2; some would like to have the series on one console; some may simply not fancy connecting up their old systems for impulsive Mario Bros.

If you're happy with what you've got, then good for you, enjoy it and stop complaining that - heaven forbid - you have some choice in the world.

I used to love this game, just swimming around and doing those flips out of the water as Ecco was pretty calming. Then you tried to actually play the game and found out just how excruciatingly difficult it could be. While the Dreamcast update lost some of the magic, the original Ecco is still a neat twist on 2D games.

WTH? The Dreamcast version was incredible. The graphics were amazing, the controls were fantastic, and the only thing that keeps it off my top 10 list is the fact that it was so damn hard

Either 1. put an emulator and the original ROMs up, or 2. do a rewrite that has EXACTLY the same gameplay as the original. None of this Donkey Kong with the hammers in the wrong place and the second level missing crap.

To this day Super Mario Bros 2 is my favorite of the entire series. I don't know what it is. The game just seemed even more surreal than any of the others. The enemies seems more inventive too. The others are all great, but there's something I just like about that particular version.

I'm a bit underwhelmed by Pac Man CE, particularly graphics wise. So they put the effort into making the states rendered in nice high resolution and they couldn't be bothered to have done the same with Pac Man and the ghosts? I don't see the nostalgia in keeping them pixelated like that. And there have been numerous inventive Pac Man clones through the years, especially on the PC.

The interesting thing about many of these old games is how awkward their control schemes feel. Most anyway, Super Mario Bros and a handful of others still feel very fluid and natural to this day. But most take some getting used to. Some games I had fond memories of I found myself disappointed by because of the controls to the point where I couldn't be bothered to play them very long. One particularly aggravating example is Bionic Commando.

Interestingly, I've never had a problem graphics-wise. I maintain that 2D sprites age better than 3D graphics, especially those aiming for realism. However, given my experience with emulation, I have a hard time spending money buying Virtual Console games. To be honest, I prefer the approach seen on Xbox Live where developers take an old game and update the graphics and gameplay. It would be interesting to see this done with some of those old Nintendo games.

To this day Super Mario Bros 2 is my favorite of the entire series. I don't know what it is. The game just seemed even more surreal than any of the others. The enemies seems more inventive too. The others are all great, but there's something I just like about that particular version.

You probably already know that, but the reason for this is that SMB2 was not actually a Mario game. It was a Japanese game based on a TV show (I think). It's called Doki Doki Panic and got a sprite swap for the US and Euro versions.

Also, what's wrong with the VC emulation? I've never noticed anything amiss, other than the lack of rumble. In fact, most games look quite a bit better on the Wii than they used to. The VC isn't the place for remakes, it's the place to buy old games... Eventually, we'll get ne